7 Useful Tips For Losing Weight With Thyroid Problems

One of the most frustrating things you can go through is trying to lose weight while also combating against a thyroid imbalance. Sure, you do all that you need to: you eat healthy meals and regularly take your thyroid medication.

But, it seems as if it is all hopeless as nothing really seems to be working. Desperation comes knocking, and you are eagerly grasping for any alternatives out there.

Now, first of all, most if not all of you should already know the thyroid’s role in metabolism regulation. So any problems and conditions that may occur will also leave your weight in a hard situation.

But what can be even more of a bother is when you take your medication, and all looks fine and dandy…even though your weight stays the same.

So what to do in such a predicament? Well, there are actually a few factors you might want to take into consideration…

1. Reduce Any Inflammation

Even if the lab tests show great results thanks to the medication you’re taking, if you happen to have an inflamed body then your thyroid will still not be working at its best.

When you have any kind of untreated inflammation, then your body itself is reluctant to give up any extra weight.

After all, if you wish to truly manage your hypothyroidism, then it will take more than just taking prescribed medicine. Ideally, you should also get enough sleep, meditate and practice yoga, as well as consume plenty of antioxidant-rich food, such as vegetables.

It is also of crucial importance to stay hydrated. If you can, you should also have some acupuncture sessions done. It further helps you relax as well as reducing the inflammation.

2. Make Sure You Get The Proper Tests

In the case that your thyroid is only being tested by TSH, then your T3 and T4 could be anything farther than great. That may very well be the reason why you are having such difficulty losing weight. And in reality, TSH is far less important than the T3 and T4 numbers, since it is a pituitary hormone.

So make sure to get the other two monitored as well if you want a clear picture of your thyroid’s health.

What’s also important to note, is that those who take their thyroid medication often have quite a low number of TSH. And since there are enough thyroid hormones, the pituitary has no need to make the thyroid work.

When the situation is like this, the only real way to measure just how well your thyroid is faring is to check the number of free thyroid hormones.

3. Don’t Overdo It With The Exercise

Many people falsely believe that, since their metabolism is low due to thyroid problems, the best thing to do is to exercise more and harder. They couldn’t be more wrong.

You would do much better to fight off any inflammation and aid your thyroid if you didn’t over-exert yourself. It is much more preferable to have a regular routine which includes gentle exercises.

So the end result is: of course you should continue monitoring and treating your thyroid, but there may be other hidden reasons behind your metabolism being so slow.

Those can be inflammations, irregular sleep patterns and not doing the right exercise.

4. The Connection Between Your Thyroid and Your Blood Sugar

Perhaps you’ve already heard that, when your thyroid is having problems, it can throw off other things in your body off balance too. And unfortunately, blood sugar is also one of those things.

There are two ways this can go badly. In the case of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar), it can stimulate a cortisol stress response.

In the other case, when you have high blood sugar, especially in the case of any inflammatory problems or autoimmune disease, it can make the immune system attack the thyroid.

Should your blood sugar levels sink below their normal levels, your body goes into panic mode since it thinks there is a crisis going on. It reacts by restricting the digestion process and supplying your brain with extra glucose.

Should this happen more often than not, then eventually your cortisol levels remain high, and so do your stress levels. And when this sort of predicament occurs, it doesn’t matter what you do; your thyroid will still remain unbalanced.

So if you think counting calories alone does the job, you might want to change your mind. Instead concentrate on maintaining your sugar levels balanced, as this can support your weight loss efforts while having hypothyroidism.

In fact, trying to limit your calorie intake can actually have the opposite effects than desired! If there is no proper production of hormones, then your body thinks that it is starving and the only way it can respond is by storing your fat instead of getting rid of it.

Your thyroid, in order to function the way it should, needs carbs and balanced sugar levels. Ironically, carbs and sugars are the first things you kick out when trying to watch how many calories you intake.

So the end result is: If your blood sugar is imbalanced, then calorie counting is utterly pointless. Both your thyroid and weight loss are dependent on proper blood sugar levels.

5. Make Sure You Are Always Well-Hydrated

Now, having said that, it should also be stated that the ideal amount of water one needs on a daily basis is still rather debated over.

To put it shortly – it is different for everyone. It is an individual thing and can base itself on many things such as diet, fitness, seasons and general health.

Many people, particularly those who are dealing with thyroid problems or having hormone-related difficulties, are not even aware they are dehydrated.

The reason why they can’t tell if that, after a long time of being dehydrated, our thirst signals can no longer show just how much water we need in order to stay ideally hydrated.

So a good base for determining how much you need (though it varies from person to person) could be about half your body weight in ounces. Take note, however, that this may be too much for some, and yet too little for others. But it is a good starting point.

Staying hydrated is not only great for weight loss and the thyroid, but also for healthier skin, higher levels of energy and even natural detoxification. It is no surprise since a great number of the toxins inside us are flushed out through our intestines, bladder, and kidneys.

So the end result is: Those who have problems with chronic diseases are in reality far more dehydrated than they might think themselves to be. In order to get rid of excess body weight, as well as harmful toxins, drinking enough water is a must.